Improvement in rice-cleaners



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIUS D. HAWKINS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ALFREDPEABODY, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

iMPaovEMENTiN RICE-CLEANERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,255, dated July 14,1863.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LUcIUs D. HAwKINs, of San Francisco, in the countyof San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new andImproved Machine for Cleaning Rice, Coffee, and other Grains; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my improved machine Fig 2, a vertical section on the line x ot'Fig. l; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on the line y 3'/ of Fig. l 5 Fig.4, a section through the top of one of the screenframes, showin g themanner in which it is contracted and expanded.

My invention consists inthe employment of screen-frames so constructedand arranged that they may be contracted and expanded when it is desiredto alter the space between the rubbing-cylinder and the outer case, andso that these frames will at all times t closely to the stone segmentsof the case,thus dispensing with the use of chinks covered withwool-skins, heretofore used between the stone segments and the frames.By the above arrangement a perfect circle is secured and much greatereconomy is gained in the longer and more uniform wear of the stonesegments and in the saving of the skins formerly used to cover thechinks.

To enable others skilled in the art to -understand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

The base A of the machine, and the upper plate, B, I propose to make ofcastiron, and unite them by hollow cast iron columns C, through whichrods a pass, and these rods may also pass through the floor of thebuilding to hold all iirmly together and to thetloor.

D are stone segments radially arranged on the base and top plates, and Eare wire-gauze screens, also radially arranged upon said base Ur H atthe top and bottom, and having upon its' upper end a pulley, Laroundwhichv the belt that is to drive it; passes. Upon this shaft is placed adrum or cylinder, J, the perimeter of which is covered with sheep-skins`or pelts b, having the wool upon them. This cylinder with its coveringshould be large enough to run in close proximity to the inner edges ofthe stone segments and screens. The stone segments D at their lower endsrest in shoes K, and by means of set-screws c these shoes, together withtheir stone segments, may

be moved to or from the cylinder J to prop their base in shoes L, whichcan be moved toward or from the cylinder by set-screws f, and their topsare adjusted and held up to the cylinder by other set-screws, g, which,like those, d, above mentioned, pass through lugs It, said lugs beingmade removable, so that the segments, as well as the frames, may beremoved and replaced when required. Each frame E is made in twoperpendicular parts, which are set into a circular groove in the shoesL, and are moved toward or from each other, as the circle around thecylinder J is desired to be contracted or expanded, the parts of theframe being held at the required distance apart by means of the slottedstraps la and set screws Z at the top and bottom, Figs. 1 and 4, andthus kept close to the stone segments on each side of the frame, thesides of the frames being made at the proper angle to fit closely to thestone segments, thus dispensing with the wood chinks used to lillthe-space between the segments and frames,

as heretofore constructed. In some cases, if desired, springs may beinserted between the two portions of the frame to keep them spread atthe required distance apart. One of the two parts composing each fra-mehas a strip of sheet metal, j, secured perpendicularly upon the innerside and projecting about four inches in front of the wire-screen of`the other partI when they are contracted, and when they are expanded it'prevents the escaping of any rice or other grain.

The grain to be cleaned is introduced into the machine at the top,and,passing down through the space between the drum and the outercylinder formed by thc'stone segments and screen frames, it is thrownwith great rapidity against the surface formed by the stones and theWire-cloth, by which the grain is severely rubbed against the saidsurface, so as to break or peel 0E the skin or hull which is onit,Without pulverizingor break: ing the grain itself, and at the same timethe substance scraped or rubbed from the grain is thrown out throgh thewire cloth, which keeps the stones free from dirt and meal, and

thegrain comes in direct contact with them during its passage throughthe machine.

I do not claim the revolving drum covered with skins or othersubstances,nor the stones,

northe frames covered with wire-cloth as my pose specilied.

LUCIUS D. HAWKINS. Witnesses:

GEO. H. KELLQGG, EDWARD P. FLINT.

